Well yes this is another bubblegum teen prom movie
which really falls into the basic category as the many others which Hollywood seems to
pump out in their masses.
Each has it’s own little idiosyncrasies though which set them apart from each
other and this is no exception.
The plot is short but a little quirky at times.
Ryan and Maggie are next door neighbours and may as well share their balconies with
each other they are so close. They seem to be the best of friends and share everything
with each other. Ryan has a huge crush on the school babe obviously to be prom queen:
Ashley.
Maggie is also persued by Chris who holds just about the lowest standing as far as
eligible guys go in school.
Such a dilemma, Chris knows all about what Ashley and wants and how to treat her and he
passes this information on to Ryan in exchange for some hints on the best way to pick up
Maggie his long time friend and neighbour. Maggie is hesitant at first but with lots of
help from Ryan she is convinced that Chris isn’t all that bad. At the same time Ryan
has won Ashley’s heart, in not in any conventional way believe me.
The big finale comes at the prom when all is turned upside down, aside from that you
have to see it to find out what happens.
So how does this transfer hold up?
...  |
VIDEO
This is another spectacular transfer from Columbia Tristar and I certainly had to search
for any faults at all.
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is exceptionally sharp and
clear at all times. I couldn’t find any hint of grain or softness at all.
The images have a full tonal range and from deep dark blacks to brilliant whites the
shadow detail was still perfect at al times. There was never any loss of detail.
The colour palette is bright and hard hitting but suits the film in its joviality.
There were no mpeg artefacts, ailiasing or shimmering and only a few very small film
artefacts.
I am very impressed with this transfer and would rate it as bordering on reference
quality.
AUDIO
The Dolby 5.1 audio track was not quite as impressive as the video transfer but still
rates quite well.
The film is primarily dialogue driven and most times the dialogue was clear and
concise. At time though I had to really strain to understand the dialogue as it was either
inarticulate or was overtaken by the heavy musical score.
The surrounds are used quite often given the lack of opportunity for this I was quite
surprised to find them kicking in all the time. The bass channel gets a lot less use and
really isn’t called for anyway.
EXTRAS
Dolby City Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
Cast and crew Bio’s
Isolated Music Score: not too bad if like the teenybopper soundtrack idea.
Making of Featurette: take the trailer and a few comments from the cast, I didn’t
find anything even remotely like a making of featurette.
Deleted Scenes: Some poor quality cuts from the film, which I thought would have
probably spiced it up, a little rather than been a hindrance.
Audio Commentary: David Raynr, Shane West, Maria Sokoloff. : This really is of not much
value at all other than to highlight the fact that the film was never any more that a
publicity exercise and didn’t have much substance right from the beginning. The
comments from Shane West and maria Sokoloff make this obvious right from the word go.
OVERALL
Not a bad film if you leave your brain elsewhere but if you’re looking for
stimulation give this one a miss.
| PICTURE
QUALITY |
9.5/10 almost perfect |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
7/10 some small problems
6/10 some nice inclusions here |
| EXTRAS |
5/10 looks like a lot but
not much effort put in here |
| OVERALL |
7/10 your average
Hollywood teen flick |
Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9 selectable)
DVD: Samsung DVD909 (via S-Video)
Receiver: Yamaha DTS RX-V595a (Sweeeeet)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Wharfdale Diamond R6 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Sony bookshelf
- Reviewed 13th January 2001
* Whatever it takes jpeg files
for internet promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by
Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
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